Waste disposal apparatus



Juy 18, E939. A. ALEXAY WASTE DISPOSAL APPARATUS Filed Sept. 18, 1937 wf f H15 ttowneg Patented July 18, 1939 PATENT. OFFICE WASTE v DISPOSAL APPARATUS Adalbert Alexay, Schenectady, N. Y., assigner to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Application September 18,1937, Serial No. 164,535

' 4 Claims.

'I'he present invention relates to apparatus for the disposal of waste material and particularly to a device suitable for the comminution, by grinding, cutting, or crushing, of waste material such as garbage in the form of vegetables, meat, bones, and the like, and for the flushing of the comminuted material into a sewer system or the4 like with the aid of water supplied to the device.

l0. An important object of the invention is the provision of an improved simple and rugged waste disposal device particularly suited for, but not limited to, the employments in hotels, restaurants, drug stores, and other installations lli,` wherein large volumes of waste material to be disposed oi' render it essential that the device be capable of operating economically and eiliciently, without jamming,r over relatively long periods of time.

V other objects and the detalls of that which I believe to be novel and/my invention will become apparent from the following description and the claims appended thereto taken in con- `iunction with the accompanying drawing in which is illustrated an exemplary form of waste disposal apparatus embodying my present invention.

In the drawing, Fig. 1 is a partially cut-away view showing the internal construction of the waste disposal device; Fig. 2 is an enlarged showing of a detail of the construction of the housing; and Fig. 3 is a sectional plan view of another detail of the housing construction.

As shown in the drawing, the casing i0 of the waste disposal device therein illustrated is adapted to be connected to a kitchen sink. hopper, or like structure indicated at ii, by means of an exteriorly anged adapter ring i2 and an interiorly :flanged clamping ring I3. The casing is provided with an upper flange y, `I4 fastened to clamping ring i3 by means of ,bolts I5. In order to minimize the transmission of vibration from the waste disposal device to the structure il, a resilient packing i6 is inserted between the structure I i and adapter ring i2 and a second resilient packing Il -is inserted between structure Il and a metal bearing ring i3 which is engaged by bolts i5. For a similar purpose, a resilient packing i9 is inserted between clamping ring i3 and the flange Il' of casing i0. As will be seen lfrom the drawing, the adapter ring provides aninlet opening for the admission of material to be ground from the sink or hopper structure Il to the interior of casing I0, and also for the passage of waterr into the casing from the sink or (CI. 14S-192) hopper to which the water may be supplied in any suitable manner as by means of a faucet (not shown).

The upper portion of casing lil is formed to provide a frusto-conical material admission pasu 'sage 2li, the larger end of which is disposed downwardly and communicates with a frustoconical grinding chamber 2i formed in the lower portion of casing IU. If desired, for convenience in manufacture or installation, the portions' oi l0 the casing forming passage 20 and chamber 2i may be made separately. Closing the lower end oi' casing I0 is a bottom flange 22 having an integrally formed discharge passage 23 which may be connected in a suitable mannerto a sewer 15 system connection, preferably with the interposition of a trap such as indicated at 2li. The bottom flange 22 is formed with a circular trough 25 arranged to cooperate with a curved surface 2B in the bottom edge of casing ill to provide an 20 annular recess 2l communicating with passage 23 and adapted to receive comminuted material from the grinding chamber 2| in a manner to be pointed out more in detail hereinafter.

Within the grinding chamber 2| is disposed a 25 rotatable material impelling device which is generally designated 30 and which is illustratedl as being of the type described in detail in my copending application Serial No. 71,156, filed March 27, 1938 and assigned to the assignee of 30 the present invention. This impelling device is connected to be rotated in a counterclockwise direction, designated by the arrow, as viewed by one looking into casing lil from above, by means Aof a motor 3| which may be supported in a suit- 35 able manner as by means of floor mounting legs 32.

The illustrated material impelling device 30 comprises upwardly extending wing-like impeller elements 33 and one or more cutter elements 34 which are mounted on a supporting disk 35 which in turn is mounted on a ywheel 38. 'Ihe cutter elements 34 may be biased inwardly and movable outwardly under the influence of centrifugal force, as set forth in detail'in my previously re- 45 ferred to copending application, or may be permanently fixed in their operative positions. Disk 35 has a downwardly slanting outer edge arranged to cooperate with a lower edge of casing I0 to form a`restricted opening 31 for the passage 50 oi'l comminuted material from the grindingA chamber to the annular recess 2l, while ywheel 33 has mounted thereon one or more impeller vanes 38 which serve, in the manner of a centrifugal pump, to create a pressure tending to 55 force comminuted material and water from recess 21 through passage 23 to the connected sewer system. 'Ihe width of opening 31 determines the size of material which may pass from the grinding chamber to recess 21.

For cooperation with the rotatable material lmpelling device 30 in the commlnution of material, there are illustrated two stationary cutting elements 40 and 4|, although more than two of such stationary cutting elements may be employed if desired, depending upon the volume of waste material to be disposed of. Stationary cutter 40 is supported on a holder 42 which is disposed in a lateral recess 43 in the side wall of the portion of casing I forming the grinding chamber 2|. This cutting element has an extended vertically arranged toothed face and may be secured toits supporting holder in any suitable manner. The cutting element is resiliently biased into its cutting position, wherein it projects into chamber 2|, by means of springs 44 which act between holder 42 and a plate 45 which serves as the closure for the recess 43. The upper end of cutter 40 is restrained from further movement' into chamber 2| by the pressure of the upper end of holder 42 against a. resilient bumper 46 which in turn rests against a flange 41 of casing I0 adjacent the upper end of recess 43. The lower end of cutter 40 is arranged to be adjustable inwardly and outwardly by means of adjusting screw U which extends through packing 5| and an opening 52 in plate 45 and has a head 53 accommodated in a flanged recess 54 in holder 42. Thus springs 44 tend to pivot the `lower end of cutter 4U toward the rotatable cutter 34, about the point of engagement of holder 42 with flange 41, and the position of the lower end of cutter 40 may be xed in any desired position relative to cutter 34 by the adjusting screw 5|] which may be secured` by a lock washer and nut, as indicated at 55. As will be seen from the drawing, the lower end of cutter 40 and also the lower end of cutter 34 extend into close adjacency with material discharge opening 31 so that material when reduced to the desired neness by the cooperative action of cutters 34 and 40 may pass directly into opening 31 and annular recess 21.

Stationary cutter 4| is vertically staggered relative to cutter 40 `so that its lower end is substantially spaced above the bottom of grinding chamber 2| and material discharge opening 31 while the upper end of cutter 4| extends substantially above the level of the upper end of cutter 4U. Cutter 4| is attached in any suitable manner to a holder 56 which is disposed in a lateral recess 51 in the Wall of chamber 2|, which recess is closed by plate 58, and the cutter 4| is urged inwardly toward the grinding chamber by springs 59 which act between holder 56 and plate 58. Engagement of flanges against resilient bumpersl which in turn press against flanges 62 of casing ||l at the upper and lower edges of recess 51, serves to restrain cutter 4| in its illustrated operative position wherein it projects into grinding chamber 2|. For-reasons which will become apparent hereinafter, it is not necessary to provide means for adjusting the position of upper cutter 4|, although such adjusting means may be provided if desired.

To aid in the positive feeding of large quantities of material through material admission passage 20 into grinding chamber 2|, the portion of casing l!) forming passage 20 is so bored or cast that its internal diameter increases spirally in 60 of holder 56 the direction of the grinding chamber. 'Ihis resuits in there being formed on the inner wall of passage 20 a helical flange or ridge 65 which is roughly of non-equilateral triangular cross-section, as indicated by the broken line in Fig. 2, having its steeper side in the form o1' a ledge 63 facing downwardly toward the grinding chamber. As will be seen from the drawing, the junction of this ledge with the adjacent surface of the wall of the passage is curved, as indicated at G1.

As a further aid in the feeding of material through passage 20 and in the grinding of material in chamber 2|, there is provided in the wall of casing I0 a passage 10 having a discharge opening 1| into the upper portion of passage 20 and located just beneath a portion of helical ledge 66. Passage and opening 1| are arranged, as best shown in Fig. 3, so as to discharge a stream of water tangentially into passage and in a counterclockwise direction as viewed from above. The outer end of passage 10 communicates with a tapped bore 12 in which is disposed a threaded nipple 13 for connection with any suitable water supply pipe such as indicated at 14. The stream of water discharged tangentially from opening 1| tends to follow along under helical ledge 66 and not only aids in the rotation of the body of material in passage 20, but also serves to lubricate the ledge and the surface of the passage to reduce the frctional resistance. This water finally reaches chamber 2| and aids in the grinding 0D* eration in the same manner as Water supplied from the sink or hopper through the opening in ring I2.

The waste disposal device hereinbefore described and embodying the present invention is particularly suited for use in those establishments, such as drug stores and the kitchens of hotels and restaurants, where during rush hours large volumes of waste food material and the like must be disposed of in a minimum of time. With the device illustrated, the waste material is deposited in the sink or hopper and tends to pack into and fill the material admission passage. The driving motor is energized by means of any suitable switching mechanism, preferably before the waste material becomes packed in the grinding chamber, and water is supplied to the device through the passage 10 or through the admission opening in ring I2 from a faucet, or from both such sources for best operation of the apparatus. With the motor in operation, the material impelling device 3U causes rotation of the mass of material in grinding chamber 2| and material admission passage 20. As the material is ground and passes out through the bottom of the grinding chamber, the downwardly expanding frustoconical form of passage 20 and chamber 2| tends to produce in effect a downwardly directed relieving action which tends automatically to feed unground material to the grinding means in chamber 2|. This downward feeding is materially aided by the screw-like action produced by helical ledge 66, the outer surface of the relatively packed mass of material in passage 20 being forced against the ledge and rotated by impelling device 30. Due to the substantial cornice-like overhanging of ledge 6G, the outer surface of the mass of material is positively gripped and pressed downwardly, thereby causing a positive downward feed of the whole mass and mak- ,posal required in rush hours. Curved surface 61 n; larger objects, such as bonesfgrapefruit rinds,v

disposed with its lower end closely adjacent said insures a smooth action fand prevents the undesirable catching 'of material such as would occur with a groove which would.soon become packed full of material and lose its ability tolproduce a screw-like feeding-action. 'Ihis curved surface also makes it easier to keep the material admission passage in a sanitary condition since it renders ledge 66 self-cleaning and prevents accumulation of material under the ledge after cessation of operation of the waste disposal device.

A further advantage of the frusto-conical shape of the grinding chamber and material admission passage and of the helical ledge makes itself apparent when there is in the disposal device an insuillcient quantity of material vto fill the grinding chamber and passage. Under these circumstances, the upward contractiony of passage 20 and the overhanging ledge 08 tend to intercept material thrown upwardly by impeller Il so that such material is not thrown outwardly through the admission opening in ring l2.

During operation of the waste disposal device, material feeds from passage 20 and into chamber 2i in the manner described hereinbefore and and the like, are given a course of crushing or cutting by cooperation of upper stationary cutter 4i with the rotating wing-like impeller blades il., This facilitates the passage of the material into the more restricted space between the rotating impeller and lower stationary cutter 'l0 and" ilnally into the small .space betweenthe rotating cutters 34 and lower cutter. Il where the material is shredded'and reduced to the desired degree of comminution for passage through opening l1 into annular passage 21; The employment of a plurality of stationary cutters and the placing of these cutters "in angularly .displaced and vertically staggered relationship to each other insures proper comminution of large quantities of waste material while materially reducing the irictional resistance of the grinding operation. Thus. it is made possible to operate the device over long periods of time for the disposal of large volumes of waste material while requiring a minimum of motor capacity and insuring reliable operation with a minimum of Jamming and motor heating. This results in lower initial cost due to the fact that a Vsmaller motor may be employed and results also in lower cost of operation and maintenance.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In an apparatus for the disposal of waste` device in the comminution of material, said elements being angularly displaced relative .to each other about the periphery of said chamber, and means providing a substantially circular restricted opening for the passage of commlnuted material from said chamber, one o! said elements being opening and another of said elements being disposed with its lower end spaced substantially from Y said circular opening andl its upper'end extending above the level of theupper end of said one element.

2. In an apparatus for the disposal of waste material such as garbage and the like, a casingv providing` a substantially vertical axis round grinding chamber, a material admission passage communicating with said chamber, ymeans for comminuting material in said chamber including Y a substantially vertical axis rotatablematerial imthe periphery of `said chamber and certain of said elements being vertically staggered. relative to other of said elements, said rotatable device and y the lowermost of said elements being relatively adjustable and extending into close adjacency with said opening, the uppermost of said elements being substantially spaced from said opening and extending above the level of the saidl lowermost of said elements.

3. In an apparatus for the disposal of waste material such as garbage and the like, a grindlng chamber, means including a rotatable material impelling device for grinding material in said chamber, a substantially round material admission passage communicating with said chamber and disposed substantially coaxial with said rotatable device, means providing'on the wallsof said'passage a helical ledge facing in the direction of said chamber for cooperation with said rotatable device to produce a screw-like forced feeding of material into said chamber, and means for discharging into said passage, on the side of` said ledge toward said chamber, a stream of 'water which is substantially tangentially directed in such manner that the stream tends to flow circumferentially around the passage in contact with the passage walls.

4. In a waste disposal apparatus, housing means providing a grinding chamber anda downwardly expanding generally frustro-conical material admission passage having its larger lower end opening into said chamber, means for comminuting material in said chamber including 'a material impelling device disposed' in the chamber below said passage and rotatable about an axis substantially coinciding with the extended axis of the passage, and a motor operable for rotating said device at relatively high speed, the cross-section of said passage increasing spirally so as to provide on the wall of the passage an overhanging lledge which extends 'in a conical spiral and faces downwardly generally toward said chamber and impelling device, the portions o! the wall-oi' said passage which extend downwardly from the base oi' each turn of said ledge to the next subiacent turn of the ledge being non` reentrant.

ADALBERT ALEXAY, 

